Channel searching by content type

ABSTRACT

Systems and method for receiving user channel search criteria, searching for channels based on representative content information, and presenting the channel results to the user. The interactive media guidance application prompts the user to enter channel search criteria by selecting categories or inputting keywords. The interactive media guidance application gathers information about channels in the form of channel attribute data. The channel attributed data identifies attributes of the typical programs provided by the channel over time. The application compares the channel attribute data for each channel with the user-entered channel search criteria. Matches or lack thereof are then displayed to the user by the interactive media guidance application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed to systems and methods for interactive mediaguidance application searches, and more particularly to interactivemedia guidance application channel searches for channels according tothe types of content offered by the channels.

Currently, media systems typically allow users to search for programsbased on attributes of programs, such as title, genre, etc. Sometimes,however, users simply desire knowing what channels provide what types ofcontent. In this mode, users are more flexible in terms of theparticular media they seek. For example, a user may want to know whatchannels offer programs of a particular director, with the idea that ifa channel offers programs of that director, the channel may offer otherprograms that the user would find desirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above and other needs are addressed by providing a channel searchfeature in which channels are identified based on the type of contentoffered by the channel. In this regard, users may search for channelsbased not necessarily on what is on a channel at the time of a search,but rather the general types of content provided by the channel acrosstime. As used herein, a channel is any identifiable source of real time,or near real time multimedia, including video, audio, or games providedaccording to a schedule. A channel may be, for example, a televisionchannel, or it may be an Internet-based, multicast stream, or othersuitable multimedia feed.

Some users desire specific channels based on their personal interests.For instance, there are news hounds, science nuts, sports fans, sci-fifans, tearjerker addicts, art connoisseurs, etc. Channel searching bycontent allows users to create a sort of “Dynamic Favorite Channel List”that caters to such preferences. Such a feature may be useful to allmedia consumers, but may be particularly useful to persons who are newto a local media distribution system, such as a traveler in a motelroom, for example. Searching for channels by content eliminates the needfor the user to locate and scan a local channel list for channels he/sheguesses would offer the type of programming that the user wants to seeat that time.

In various embodiments of the present invention, an interactive mediaguidance application obtains channel search criteria from the user. Forexample, in some embodiments, the interactive media guidance applicationreceives user-selected categories chosen from a pre-defined list. Inanother approach, the interactive media guidance application receives auser-entered keyword into a search box. In yet another approach, theinteractive media guidance application receives one or more criteriathat were chosen by the user by checking a box or boxes (e.g., from anon-screen menu).

After receiving the channel search criteria from the user, theinteractive media guidance application compares channel attribute datato the user-provided channel search criteria. There are several ways bywhich channel attribute data may be obtained. For example, a “GenerateChannel Attributes over Time” function may be used to automaticallygenerate representative channel attribute data based on programs thathave aired on the channel during a certain preceding period of time.Another approach uses a “Receive Assigned Channel Attributes” function,which receives channel attribute data manually assigned to each channelby an operator and stored in the interactive media guidance applicationdatabase. The interactive media guidance application may identify amatch when the user-supplied channel search criteria and channelattribute data are exact matches or, in some embodiments, when thematches are similar (e.g., using fuzzy logic).

After identifying matches, the interactive media guidance applicationdisplays the channel results using any suitable approach. In one method,the results display may include a streaming video or snapshot depictionof each channel in cells that are graphically arranged as a mosaic. Inanother embodiment the results display may indicate the channels andprovide listings for a given period of time. In yet another embodiment,the results display may be a selectable arrangement (e.g., list) ofchannels from which the user can link to the current programming foreach channel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features of the present invention, its nature andvarious advantages will be more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an illustrative interactive media guidanceapplication system in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an illustrative channel information datastructure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative main search display screen in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows an illustrative display of exemplary channel search optionsin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 5 a and 5 b show two illustrative category searching displays inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 6 a and 6 b show two illustrative keyword searching displays inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 shows an illustrative keyword searching display in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 shows an illustrative mosaic search results display in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 shows an illustrative search results display having channelindicators and program listings tor the indicated channels in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 10 a and 10 b show two illustrative displays in which searchresults are displayed for search criterion (FIG. 10 a) and listings aredisplayed for a selected channel (FIG. 10 b) in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of an illustrative process for channel searchingin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 12 and 13 are flowcharts of an illustrative process for obtainingchannel attribute data in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative interactive media guidance applicationsystem 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.User equipment 110 receives content in the form of signals from mediasource 120 over communications path 122. In practice there may bemultiple media sources 120 and user equipment 110, but only one of eachhas been shown in FIG. 1 to avoid over-complicating the drawing.

Media source 120 may be any suitable media source such as, for example,a cable system headend, satellite media distribution facility, mediabroadcast facility, on-demand server (e.g., VOD server), game serviceprovider (e.g., for online gaming), Internet service provider (e.g., forproviding Websites), an ordered list provider (e.g., for providingplaylists), or any other suitable facility or system for originating ordistributing content. Media source 120 may be configured to transmitsignals over any suitable communications path 122 including, forexample, a satellite path, a fiber-optic path, a cable path, an Internetpath, or any other suitable wired or wireless path. The signals maycarry any suitable media content such as, for example, televisionprograms, games, music, news, and/or web services. In some embodiments,media source 120 may include control circuitry for executing theinstructions of an interactive media guidance application such as, forexample, a client/server or online interactive media guidanceapplication.

Each media source 120 transmits media in real time or near real-timefashion as one or more channels. For example, a media source 120 maytransmit one or more channels of television programming. As anotherexample, a media source 120 may be a website that multicasts videocontent according to a schedule (e.g., as opposed to on-demand) over theInternet.

User equipment 130 may include any equipment suitable for providing aninteractive media experience. User equipment 110 may include televisionequipment such as a television, set-top box, recording device (e.g.,digital video recorder), video player, user input device (e.g., remotecontrol, keyboard, mouse, touch pad, touch screen and/or voicerecognition interface), or any other device suitable for providing aninteractive media experience. For example, user equipment 110 mayinclude a DCT 2000, 2500, 5100, 6208 or 6412 set-top box provided byMotorola, Inc. In some embodiments, user equipment 110 may includecomputer equipment, such as a personal computer with a television card(PCTV) or an Open Cable Unidirectional Receiver (OCUR) plug-in card andoptionally a security access card suitable for secure delivery ofcontent. In some embodiments, user equipment 110 may include a gamingsystem, a portable electronic device, such as a portable DVD player, aportable gaming device, a cellular telephone, a PDA, a music player(e.g., MP3 player), or any other suitable portable or fixed device.

User equipment 110 may include a network (not shown) that interconnectsvarious elements of user equipment 110 within, for example, a household.

In the example of FIG. 1, user equipment 110 includes at least controlcircuitry 118, display device 112, storage device 116 and user inputdevice 114, which may be implemented as separate devices or as a singledevice. An interactive media guidance application, such as aninteractive television program guide, may be implemented on userequipment 110 to control the display, on display device 112, of themedia transmitted by media source 120 over path 122 and to provideinteractive media guidance application features.

The media that may be played by user equipment 110 may vary widely. Infact, many different types of media may be played by user equipment 110.Many different types of media may be available because each media typemay be unique in a technical sense (e.g., a particular technicalimplementation is required to play a particular type of media, forexample, MPEG4 or MPEG2 video) or is considered unique in a definitionalsense (e.g., a video-on-demand program may be considered a differenttype of media than a broadcast program). The different types of mediamay be classified generally or to a desired degree of specificity. Forexample, general classifications of media types may include televisionmedia, music media, end audio and/or video media. Within each generalmedia type, more specific and different media types are available.Television media may include, for example, broadcast televisionprogramming, switched broadcast/groupcast/unicast programming, recordedtelevision programming, video-on-demand (VOD) programming, nearvideo-on-demand (NVOD) programming, pay-per-view programming, satellitetelevision programming, and streaming video programming. Recordedtelevision programming may be a recording of another type of televisionprogramming. Recorded television programs may be stored locally on userequipment 110 or remotely on networked user equipment (not shown).Recorded television programming may also be stored on a remote networkvideo recorder server (such as media source 120 or similar remoteserver). Music media may include, for example, MP3 files, WAV files,MIDI files, AAC, real media, Dolby digital, or other suitable formatwith which music can be compressed, distributed and stored on userdevice 110.

Display device 112 may be any suitable display device such as, forexample, a television monitor, a computer monitor, or a displayincorporated in user equipment 110 (e.g., a cellular telephone or musicplayer display). Display device 112 may also be configured to providefor the output of audio.

Control circuitry 118 is adapted to receive user inputs from inputdevice 114 and execute the instructions of the interactive mediaguidance application. Control circuitry 118 may include one or moretuners (e.g., analog or digital tuners), encoders and decoders,processors (e.g., Motorola 66000 or MIPS family processors), memory(e.g., RAM and hard disks), communications circuitry (e.g., cable modemcircuitry), input/output circuitry (e.g., graphics circuitry),connections to the various devices of user equipment 110, and any othersuitable component for providing analog or digital media programming,program recording and playback, and interactive media guidance features.In some embodiments, control circuitry 118 may be included as part ofone of the devices of user equipment 110 such as, for example, part ofdisplay 112 or any other device (e.g., a set-top box, television andvideo player).

User equipment 110 may include a storage device 116 such as, forexample, memory or hard-drive (e.g., digital video recorder). Only onesuch storage device is shown to avoid overcrowding the figure, though itis understood that additional storage devices may be used as desired.Storage device 116 may store data (e.g., channel content) and media(e.g., recorded assets). In another embodiment (not shown) userequipment 110 may be able to access a storage device located at a remotesite end store data and/or media at that remote storage device. Such aremote storage device may be referred to herein as a networked storagedevice, a remote storage device, or a networked digital video recorder.

In some embodiments, the interactive media guidance application mayprovide features to the user with a client/server approach. For example,data pertaining to channel content may be provided to the server, whichmay store the data from the client. When the client performs achannels-by-content search, it may retrieve the channel content datafrom the server, or alternatively, the client may request the final listof channels from the server. There may be one server for each instanceof user equipment 110, one for multiple instances of user equipment 110,or a single server may serve as a proxy for each instance of userequipment 110.

Any suitable number of users may have equipment, such as user equipment110, connected to media source 120 and data source 124. But for clarityof illustration, the equipment of only a single user is shown. Theequipment of the plurality of users may be connected to media source 120and data source 124 using a cable television network, a local areanetwork (LAN), a satellite network, a fiber optic network, a wirelessnetwork, or any other suitable means. In some embodiments, the equipmentof the plurality of users may be connected to each other using anysuitable means.

User equipment 110 may receive interactive media guidance applicationdata from one or more data sources 124. Data sources 124 may providedata for a particular type of content or for a particular application.For example, one data source 124 may provide data for non-on-demandassets (e.g., non-pay and pay-per-view programs), and another mayprovide data for on-demand assets (e.g., VOD programs). Or, for example,a single data source may provide both of these types of data. Forexample, one data source 124 may provide data for an interactivetelevision program guide. Another data source 124 may provide data forseries playlists. Another data source 124 may, for example, provide datafor another interactive application (e.g., a home shopping application).In some embodiments, data sources 124 may provide data to theinteractive media guidance application using a client/server approach.There may be one server per data source, one for all sources or, in someembodiments, a single server may communicate as a proxy between userequipment 110 and various data sources 124. In some embodiments, datasources 124 may provide data as an online interactive media guidanceapplication. In such embodiments, data source 124 may include controlcircuitry for executing the instructions of the online media guidanceapplication.

Channel info source 126 shows one particular example of a data sourcefor various embodiments of the present invention, which aids insearching channels by content. Data source 126 includes a channelattribute database 128 and control circuitry 130 (which may include anysuitable processor, memory, I/O circuitry, and communicationscircuitry). Control circuitry 130 directs the storage and transfer ofchannel attribute data. The channel attribute data defines the contentof a channel. The interactive media guidance application implemented onuser equipment 110, whose instructions are processed by controlcircuitry 118, compares this information during the channels-by-contentsearch against user-entered channel search criteria.

Channel attribute data may be generated in a number of ways. In someapproaches, an operator of data source 126 manually assigns channelattribute data to each channel. Such an assignment may be based on theeditorial judgment of the operator. In other embodiments, controlcircuitry 130 runs a process which examines program identifiers of mediafor a channel (e.g., titles, and genre information) over time, and basedon suitable criteria (e.g., frequency) generates channel attribute datafor the channel. For example, assume that the program identifiers formedia on a television demonstrates 75% of the programs on that channelare sports programs. Control circuitry 130 may assign a category of“sports” to the channel. In some embodiments a combination of theseapproaches are used. It should also be noted that in some embodimentsthe interactive media guidance application automatically generateschannel attribute data.

FIG. 1 shows media source 120 and data sources 124 as separate elements.In practice, their functionality may be combined and provided from asingle system at a single facility, or multiple systems at multiplefacilities. For example, one media source 120 and data source 124 may becombined to provide VOD content and associated VOD data.

For the purposes of clarity, the following discussion may sometimesdescribe an embodiment in which the interactive media guidanceapplication is an interactive program guide. It will be understood,however, that the following discussion and the features discussed may beapplied to any interactive media guidance application.

FIG. 2 shows a diagram 200 illustrating one possible data structure forstoring channel attribute data in the channel attribute database 128 ofdata source 126 (FIG. 1). The main table 210 has two parts, channel ID220 and corresponding fields 230. One illustrative example shown infields 230 is that Channel ID 1 is CBS. Each Channel ID has an unlimitedMount of associated fields depicted by field 230. In this example, thereare two associated fields for the Channel ID shown by the firstsub-chart 240. The two fields are “a1” with associated value “GeneratedChannel Attributes over Time” and “b1” with associated value “AssignedChannel Attributes.” These two values indicate two illustrative waysthat channel attribute data can be generated or assigned.

The next table 250 illustrates a partial list of channel attribute datathat was generated from a “Generated Channel Attributes over Time”process run by channel information source 126 or an interactive mediaguidance application implemented on user equipment 110. Here, the firstthree attributes associated with CBS are shown: sports, football, andaction.

Table 260 illustrates a partial list of channel attribute data manuallyassigned to CBS. Three illustrative “Assigned Channel Attributes” areshown: sports, drama, and comedy. Note that this list partially overlapswith the “Generated Channel Attributes over Time” list. Though overlapis likely, it would not necessarily always be the case.

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative search display 300 from which theinteractive media guidance application presents the user with ways tosearch for and view programming. “Channels-by-Content” button 310 is oneillustrative user interface element that the interactive media guidanceapplication may present to the user as a means for allowing the user tochoose to search for a list of channels by content. Information area 320informs the user about the functionality of button 310 when it ishighlighted. As shown in the figure, button 310 is highlighted,indicating that it has been highlighted by the user (for example, by theuser navigating a highlight region to the button using arrow Keys usinga remote control). FIG. 3 is only one illustrative approach, as theinteractive media guidance application may present the user with otherways to search for channels by content. For example, there may be abutton on a user's remote control (not shown) that directly invokes thefeature using a single key press.

In response to the user invoking the channels-by-content searchfunction, such as by selecting button 310 of FIG. 3, the interactivemedia guidance application may provide a search criteria entry display,or may allow the user to select from one of a plurality of searchcriteria methods. FIG. 4 shows an illustrative display 400 that providesthe user three possible search methods: category searching 410, keywordsearching 420, and keyword by checkbox 430. These features are explainedbelow in connection with FIGS. 5, 6, and 7. These are merely depictiveof possible search methods and do not present an exhaustive list.

FIGS. 5 a and 5 b are two illustrative category searching displays 500 aand 500 b. In this search criteria entry mode, the user selectscategories and sub-categories from lists. Help area 510 a explains howthe user should interact with a search screen of this type. A user usesthe up and down arrows on the user's remote to scroll up and down thelist. The right arrow makes the user's selection and presents the userwith either results or a sub-list. The left arrow cancels the user'smost recent selection.

“category” column 520 a shows an illustrative list of possible broadcategories the interactive media guidance application may present to theuser. This illustrative list includes four possible categories. In thisdisplay, the user has selected sports by scrolling to highlight sportsand selecting the right arrow. This has brought up “Sub-Category” list530 a. This list presents the user with a more specific list of options,in this illustrative case the list of options concerns different typesof sports because the user selected “sports” from the “Category” column520 a. The user has highlighted the sub-category “Football,” but has notselected it. The “Results” column 540 a contains instructions for theuser to enter a further selection. The user has not entered enoughinformation to be presented with a final channel-by-content result list.

FIG. 5 b represents how display 500 a would look after the user made theuser's next selection if that user's selection were football. Inresponse, the interactive media guidance application searches channelattribute database 128 (FIG. 1) and presents the user with a list ofmatching channels in the “Results” column 540 b. In this particularillustrative case there were twelve channels that matched the user'schannel search criteria. Only the first seven channels in the list aredisplayed. The user may access the remainder of the results by scrollingdown through the list. Currently, the user has selected CBS. Help area510 b new explains to the user how to tune to CBS and also offers abrief description of CBS's general programming.

FIGS. 6 a and 6 b are two illustrative keyword entry displays. In thissearch criteria entry mode, the user enters keywords letter by letter.The user navigates through the keypad 620 a to select a letter andpresses enter to add the letter to the keyword. The use of an on-screenkeyboard is only illustrative, as it is suitable for limited user inputdevices, such as remote controls. In other embodiments, other interfaceelements may be used. One example would be a simple text entry fieldwhen the user input device is a keyboard. Any suitable text entryinterface may be used.

In this illustrative display, the user has entered five letters. FOOTB(partially entering “FOOTBALL”). In some embodiments the interactivemedia guidance application may provide a list of potential keywordsmatching the entered letters as part of an autocomplete function (notshown). In response to the user entering a partial or complete keyword,the interactive media guidance application searches the channelattribute database 128 (FIG. 1) for matching channels. FIG. 6 b shows anillustrative results list 630 b having twelve matches, although the usercan only currently see five. To access the remaining matches, the usermay scroll down the list. Because CBS is the current highlightedselection, help area 610 b offers instructions on how to tune to CBSalong with a brief description of CBS's general programming.

FIG. 7 is an illustrative keyword-by-checkbox display 700. In thissearch criteria entry mode, the interactive media guidance applicationallows a user to input channel search criteria by merely checking boxesassociated with a predefined list of channel attributes 720. Help area710 explains to the user how to make selections and submit them toreceive results.

The user may select one or more channel search criteria. Multiplechannel search criteria may be processed using different operators,including AND and OR. The interactive media guidance application mayhave the operator pre-determined or the user may be presented with anoption of using AND or OR (not shown). To illustrate, assume the userselects “action” and “sports” and presses ENTER. If the interactivemedia guidance application is set to use the AND operator, or if theuser selects to use the AND operator, the user would only be presentedwith these channels whose channel attribute data matches both “action”and “sports.” This is the more restrictive form of searching. If,instead, the interactive media guidance application is set to use the ORoperator, or if the user selects to use the OR operator, the user wouldbe presented with all channels whose channel attribute data matches“action” and all channels whose channel attribute data matches “sports.”The user would, in most instances, be presented with a larger, but lesstailored, set of results if the OR operator were used.

In the example of display 700, the user has selected “sports” in thecheckbox field 730. In response to the user pressing ENTER, theinteractive media guidance application will search the channel attributedatabase 128 (FIG. 1) for matching channels and display the results.Alternatively, and not shown in FIG. 7, the interactive media guidanceapplication may also present the user with a sub-checkbox field whereinthe user makes a more specific selection. If the user selected “sports,”the user may be presented with a number of checkboxes representingdifferent types of sports. Whether or not the user is presented with alist of channels or asked for more specific criteria could be pre-set inthe interactive media guidance application or could be chosen by theuser. For example, if the number of results exceeds a pre-set value, theinteractive media guidance application may automatically be programmedto request more detailed criteria from the user so that the interactivemedia guidance application may narrow the channel results list.

FIGS. 8, 9, 10 a and 10 b are illustrative results displays. Theinteractive media guidance application may present results in theseformats as part of any channels-by-content search. For example, theinteractive media guidance application may use such display arrangementswhen presenting results for a channels-by-content search in which theuser selected keywords (such as in the approach illustrated by FIG. 7).Or, the interactive media guidance application may use such displayswhen providing results for searches in which keywords were entered usingthe approach of FIG. 5 a, or in which categories were selected using theapproach of FIG. 6 a, in lieu of the results displays of FIGS. 5 b and 6b, respectively.

FIG. 8 shows an illustrative mosaic display 800 in which results arerepresented in a plurality of cells. In the example of FIG. 8, there aretwelve channels in the results list that match the user's channel searchcriteria (e.g., “Football.”) Results display 800 shows four results(ESPN, CBS, TNT, and FOX), and the user may scroll down to see theremaining eight. In this example, the user highlights the channel towhich the user wishes co tune and presses ENTER.

There are multiple suitable methods to indicate results. In someembodiments, the cells include currently-streamed or broadcast video foreach channel. But this method would require a tuner (or other circuitry)for each channel in the result. To solve this issue, the user may beable to see streaming video for the particular channel chat the user hascurrently highlighted. For example, in display 800 if the user hadhighlighted CBS with the user's remote control (not shown) the userwould see a streaming video of the current program Everybody LovesRaymond.

In other embodiments, the interactive media guidance application uses asnapshot of the current programming that is showing on each channel(such as by tuning to each of the results sequentially and storing aframe of video from each). In the example of FIG. 8, the interactivemedia guidance application would have determined that Everybody LovesRaymond was showing on CBS and then obtained a freeze-frame of EverybodyLoves Raymond to display to the user. Additionally or alternatively, ifothers are available, additional channels may be displayed live or around robin frame capture update of channels may be implemented.Additionally, the interactive media guidance application could determinethat Everybody Loves Raymond is showing on CBS and use a stockphotograph from a database that represents the program. Such aphotograph would be of the type used by CBS in promotional materials forEverybody Loves Raymond. Such a database would include a photographassociated with every program in the current cable programming lineup.Furthermore, a mix of stock photographs and current screen shots couldbe used in yet another embodiment.

CBS shows NFL and college football games on a regular basis. But notethat the current programming on a channel in the search results listdoes not necessarily match the search criteria. For example, whileEverybody Loves Raymond does not satisfy a search for “Football” in andof itself, CBS still satisfies the search criteria it there had been,within a certain preceding time frame, programming on CBS includingcontent associated with football.

FIG. 9 shows another illustrative search results display. Display 900 isa grid of channels matching the user's channel search criteria (e.g.,“Football”). In this example, 2.5 hours 910 of the current programmingis shown for those channels that matched the user's channel searchcriteria. The interactive media application allows the user to scrollthrough the grid to other channels, navigate to programming on thechannels for other time slots, and tune to a channel by selecting thechannel and pressing ENTER. Here, the user has selected CBS as depictedby the highlighting.

FIGS. 10 a and 10 b are two displays 1000 a and 1000 b illustratingadditional approaches the interactive media guidance application may useto display search results to the user. In display 1000 a the interactivemedia guidance application presents the user with a list of channels1010 a that match the user-supplied channel search criteria. Here thereare twelve total channels in the results list. Five channels are shown.The user may scroll down to view the remaining seven channels. The usercurrently has CBS highlighted, so the interactive media guidanceapplication displays a short description of CBS's general programming inthe instruction window 1020 a. Having highlighted CBS, the user simplypresses ENTER to view the channel's current schedule.

Display 1000 b represents the current CBS schedule 1010 b that theinteractive media guidance application would present to the user if theuser were to select CBS in display 1000 a (FIG. 10 a). The instructionwindow 1020 b now tells the user to press ENTER to tune to CBS. The userwould press BACK, ESCAPE, or an equivalent key to return to the previousscreen and select a different channel.

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart 1100 of an illustrative process for searchingfor channels by content. At step 1110 the interactive media guidanceapplication receives channel search criteria from the user with which toperform the channels-by-content search. The interactive media guidanceapplication may receive user criteria using any suitable approach,including those shown, for example, in FIG. 4: Category Searching 410demonstrated in FIG. 5, Keyword Searching 420 demonstrated in FIG. 6,and Keyword by Checkbox 430 demonstrated in FIG. 7.

In step 1120, the interactive media guidance application then determineswhether the user has entered the final criteria. This determination canbe made in a multitude of ways. For example, the interactive mediaguidance application may determine that there are too many hits based onsome predetermined threshold, or, the guide may use a multi-step processfor receiving search criteria. In response to determining it has notreceived the final user criteria, the interactive media guidanceapplication may, for example, in step 1130 present the user with asub-display of selectable genres, or it may simply prompt the user foradditional channel search criteria. Presenting the user with asub-display is Illustrated in the sub-category column 530 a (FIG. 5 a).The interactive media guidance application then receives the additionaluser criteria 1110 and repeats the decision-making step 1120 until itdetermines that it has received the final user criteria.

Once the interactive media guidance application determines it hasreceived the final user criteria, it continues to step 1140 and accessesthe channel attribute database 128 (FIG. 1). Specifically, theinteractive media guidance application obtains channel attribute data.This may be accomplished using any suitable approach. In someembodiments, for example, the interactive media guidance applicationobtains channel attributes for all channels, then proceeds to steps 1150and 1160. For other embodiments, the interactive media guidanceapplication performs steps 1140 through 1160 iteratively, channel bychannel.

At step 1150, the interactive media guidance application compares thechannel attribute data for each channel against the user-suppliedchannel search criteria received in seep 1110. The interactive mediaguidance application determines at step 1160 whether there has been oneor more channel matches. A channel match is made if the interactivemedia guidance application finds the user-supplied channel searchcriteria in the channel attribute data for that particular channel. Inone approach, a match is also made when user-supplied channel searchcriteria is similar to one or more channel attributes, referred toherein as “fuzzy matching.” If the user-supplied channel search criteriais not present or similar to that channel's associated attribute data,no match is made.

If no matches are made, the interactive media guidance applicationdisplays this result to the user and prompts the user to enter newchannel search criteria in step 1170. The interactive media guidanceapplication may also present the user with the option to exit withoutentering new channel search criteria Snot shown). The interactive mediaguidance application then returns to the first step of the process andrepeats steps 1110 through 1160.

If a match is made in step 1160, the results are displayed to the userin step 1180. There are multiple methods that the interactive mediaguidance application may use to display search results to the user. Afew illustrative examples include those shown in FIGS. 8, 9, 10 a and 10b along with those figures' associated comments.

FIG. 12 is an overview flowchart 1200 of an illustrative process forgenerating channel attribute data in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention. The flowchart has two paths for generatingchannel attribute data: “Generate channel attributes over time” 1230 and“Receive assigned channel attributes” 1220, each step then followed bystep 1230 “Store result in channel attribute database.” “Generatechannel attributes over time” 1210 is explained in more detail inconnection with FIG. 13. “Receive assigned channel attributes” receivesthose channel attributes which are entered into the channel attributedatabase 128 (FIG. 1) by a programmer, employee, or user, using asuitable computer system for this purpose (not shown). In someapproaches, an operator of data source 126 manually assigns savedchannel attribute data to each channel. To illustrate, these assignedchannel attributes would be saved in table 260 (FIG. 2) for CBS. Inother embodiments, control circuitry 130 runs a process which examinesprogram identifiers of media for a channel (e.g., titles and genreinformation) over time, and based on suitable criteria (e.g., frequency)generates and saves channel attribute data for the channel. Toillustrate, these generated channel attributes would be saved in table250 (FIG. 2) for CBS. In some embodiments a combination of theseapproaches are used. It should also be noted that in some embodimentsthe interactive media guidance application automatically generateschannel attribute data.

Once the system has generated or received the channel attribute data, atstep 1230 the interactive media guidance application stores the resultin the channel attribute database 128 (FIG. 1). This result will remainstatic until the interactive media guidance application generates orreceives new channel attribute data.

The stored list of channel attribute data may be a complete list of allthe channel attribute data gathered, or it may be a partial list. Theinteractive media guidance application may rank the list according tocertain criteria, such as frequency. If it is a partial list, channelattribute data that do not reach a specified level on the criteria wouldhave been eliminated by the interactive media guidance application.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart 1300 of a more detailed method for generatingchannel attribute data over time 1210 (FIG. 12). This process may beperformed on a regularly scheduled basis or when eachchannels-by-content search is performed. For clarity, the steps forgenerating channel attribute data will be described in the context of anembodiment in which the interactive media guidance application generatesthe information. First, the interactive media guidance applicationaccesses a program information database that includes programidentifiers for all programs that are shown on a channel over a timespan. This database (not shown), which may be similar to the channelattribute database 264, would contain the program attributes for allprograms shown on each channel. For example, program identifiers forEverybody Loves Raymond might include “Ray Romano” and “comedy.” In step1310 the interactive media guidance application retrieves the programidentifiers for a specified period of time, e.g., two weeks. This timeperiod may be programmed into the interactive media guidanceapplication, but may also be entered by the user or varied by channel orother criteria.

Once the interactive media guidance application has retrieved all theprograms' identifiers for the two week interval and stored them intemporary memory (not shown), the interactive media guidance applicationmay rank the program identifiers according to a predefined rankingcriteria, such as frequency, at step 1320. The interactive mediaguidance application orders the program identifiers accordingly.Rankings may be made based on, for example, frequency, level ofimportance, or level of specificity.

In the next step 1330, the interactive media guidance application mayeliminate certain program identifiers that fall below some minimumthreshold, e.g., less than 10% of the most frequent program identifier.To illustrate, if the most frequent program identifier occurred 100times, at this step the interactive media guidance application wouldeliminate those program identifiers that occur less than 10 times(100*10%=10).

in the last step 1340, the interactive media guidance applicationgenerates a list of channel attribute data for each channel from thefinal list of program identifiers created in step 1330 and stores thislist of channel attribute data in the channel attribute database 128(FIG. 1), in the appropriate field-value pair. To illustrate, this listof channel attribute data would be saved in table 250 (FIG. 2) for CBS.In some embodiments, the interactive media guidance applicationgenerates the channel attributes by retrieving program attributes from aguidance application database (e.g., from data source 124 of FIG. 1) foreach of the programs in the list. The program attributes may be assignedas channel attributes. For example, assuming that a channel in the listhad a sufficient number of sporting events, the genres or categoriesassociated with the events (e.g., sports, football, etc.) may beassigned to the channel and stored in table 250 (FIG. 2).

The above described embodiments of the present invention are presentedfor purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and the presentinvention is limited only by the claims which follow.

1-16. (canceled)
 17. A method for generating attribute data for acontent communications path using an interactive media guidanceapplication, the method comprising: identifying a plurality of mediaassets that have been previously transmitted over the contentcommunications path; retrieving, from a guidance application database,information about characteristics of the identified media assets;generating, according to a predefined ranking criterion, attribute datafor the content communications path based on the retrieved information;and associating the attribute data with the content communications path.18. The method of claim 17, wherein the plurality of media assets hasbeen previously transmitted over the content communication path during aspecified period of time.
 19. The method of claim 17, further comprisingretrieving the predefined ranking criterion from the guidanceapplication database.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein generatingattribute data for the content communications path comprises: rankingthe retrieved information according to the predefined ranking criterion;and generating the attribute data for the content communications pathbased on highly ranked information.
 21. The method of claim 17, whereinthe predefined ranking criterion includes frequency.
 22. The method ofclaim 17, wherein the predefined ranking criterion includes level ofspecificity.
 23. The method of claim 17, further comprising storing thegenerated attribute data in the guidance application database.
 24. Themethod of claim 24, further comprising receiving user assigned attributedata associated with the content communications path; and storing theuser assigned attribute data in the guidance application database.
 25. Asystem for generating attribute data for a content communications pathusing an interactive media guidance application, the system comprising:a storage device; control circuitry configured to: identify a pluralityof media assets that have been previously transmitted over the contentcommunications path; retrieve, from a guidance application databasestored on the storage device, information about characteristics of theidentified media assets; generate, according to a predefined rankingcriterion, attribute data for the content communications path based onthe retrieved information; and associate the attribute data with thecontent communications path.
 26. The system of claim 25, wherein theplurality of media assets has been previously transmitted over thecontent communication path during a specified period of time.
 27. Thesystem of claim 25, wherein the control circuitry is further configuredto retrieve the predefined ranking criterion from the guidanceapplication database stored on the storage device.
 28. The system ofclaim 25, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to: rankthe retrieved information according to the predefined ranking criterion;and generate the attribute data for the content communications pathbased on highly ranked information.
 29. The system of claim 25, whereinthe predefined ranking criterion includes frequency.
 30. The system ofclaim 25, wherein the predefined ranking criterion includes level ofspecificity.
 31. The system of claim 25, wherein the control circuitryis further configured to: store the generated attribute data in theguidance application database stored on the storage device.
 32. Thesystem of claim 25, further comprising a user input device, and whereinthe control circuitry is further configured to: receive user assignedattribute data associated with the content communications path using theuser input device; and store the user assigned attribute data in theguidance application database stored on the storage device.